Post on Medial

What next for Ather? A Hero subsidiary status? 😅😅 With the latest development, that has never been more likely. Let's dive in! .. Whenever Ather Energy’s in need of more money, Hero pounces in. -> This was evident in the Sep rights issue wherein Hero poured in almost Rs 550cr into Ather -> Then two months later, it poured into another Rs 140cr, raising the stake to almost 40% -> And now, it has put in another Rs 124cr, taking its shareholding well above 40%! .. Now consider this: Months ago, all the biz media had publicised that Ather had reportedly signed a deal with Hero. What deal? That Hero won’t raise shareholding beyond 40% mark. It’s clear that was all nonsense. No such deal ever happened. .. And, let’s be clear. -> Hero MotoCorp has not poured thousands of crores into Ather to just be a financial investor -> Over the years, it has also poured in all kinds of strategic support, like helping with the sourcing of parts and components etc Not only has Hero bailed out Ather from bankruptcy in the past, but it has shown up in every opportunity to invest more & raise stake. .. And it also makes sense. -> Ather has helped Hero build a formidable EV play without having to justify the big investments & losses to shareholders -> Plus, it's given Hero a shadow presence among the Top-5 players, when its own EV brand Vida is yet to find critical mass adoption Thus, there is even more reason for Hero to accumulate shares. .. And that’s exactly what Hero is doing. -> I was curious, why Hero decided to invest Rs 140cr into Ather just two months after investing Rs 550cr in the rights issue -> And then I learned that the Rs 140cr did not go into Ather’s accounts. Instead, Hero bought out shares from Flipkart and Navi Founder Sachin, who owned about 13% of Ather’s shares and needed money to fund Navi’s growth -> And now Hero has done that again. The Rs 124cr investment is a purchase of a 2.2% stake from Sachin, who has now exited the company .. So, what do we know? -> That Hero is buying up shares of other investors to raise its shareholding in Ather -> And that its stake in India’s No.4 EV 2W maker has is past 40% .. But, what if Hero wants to acquire a majority and the founders are not happy? -> It won’t matter because the two founders, Tarun & Swapnil, own less than 13% combined -> Hero just needs 8% or so more. And it has enough cash in the bank to seal the deal tomorrow, if it wants .. Thus, it seems ever more likely, that sooner or later, Ather will end up maturing from one of Hero Moto’s associate companies to a subsidiary. What do you think?